A saxophone ligature is a device that holds the reed against the table (flat part) of the mouthpiece. Most people wouldn’t think this is that big of a deal, I mean how hard is it to use something to make the reed stay against the mouthpiece? You could use a rubber band if push came to shove. Nevertheless, as all things in our society, the issue is made more complicated by modern marketing! It might be sales and marketing hype, but you can’t go long as a sax player before you start hearing the talk about ligatures………..Ligature A will allow the reed to vibrate more freely. Ligature B will allow the higher overtones in the sound to ring. Ligature C only contacts the reed in such a way as to allow unparalleled sound production. Ligature D will make your altissimo notes just pop out with little to no effort. Ligature E will make your tone richer. Ligature F will make your sound more vibrant and alive. Ligature G will make more reeds play better………..It goes on and on……….
Obviously, if you look at the picture you can tell that I have either fallen for the hype or I believe there are difference that can be perceived when using different ligatures. For the photo, I rounded up all my tenor,alto and clarinet ligatures ( I forgot to include my soprano saxophone ligatures). In total I have about 46 ligatures for those instruments. It made me a bit sick to do it, but I calculated a quick estimate of what these have cost me over the years. Are you ready………..1750.00 (Excuse me a moment while I cry………….although this is nothing compared to how much I’ve spent on reeds in the last 30 years!). Obviously, that is a lot of money! Do ligatures make a difference? Well, even if they don’t, I have to believe they do just to justify my money spent and not feel like a total fool.
You might think it is hogwash but I do feel and notice a difference in the way different ligatures allow the reed to vibrate. Some of these differences can be perceived by the listener and some of them can only be felt by the player himself. I have played ligatures that have made the tone darker, brighter, richer, hollower, more focused, more spread, constrained, brittle, buttery, louder and softer. Now some of these words are thoughts that only I have had and could perceive. Others are thoughts and words that others have heard when I played a certain ligature. The end result for me is that I do feel the ligature makes a difference. At times it might be subtle and not heard by the listener but if it is felt or heard by the player then it can make a big difference in how that player hears their sound and how they perform.
Now I can go into an analysis of what each ligature does and how it changes the response or sound (I will probably do this in the future) but in the end all these descriptions are totally subjective. You have to play each ligature yourself and judge for yourself. It is much like my mouthpiece reviews and clips. I can give my opinion and view on a given mouthpiece but in the end you have to play it for yourself and form your own opinion.
Anyways, let’s put this to a vote!
Does a ligature make a difference? (Poll Results)
- Yes, it’s important to find the right one! (62%, 160 Votes)
- Yes, but it is slight. Don’t waste your money. (29%, 76 Votes)
- I have no idea………… (7%, 17 Votes)
- No, no difference whatsoever. Use whatever is cheap! (2%, 7 Votes)
Total Voters: 260
Steve —
I have a few, myself. I do believe there is a difference. For example, I turned over a Rovner (put the bars on the reed) & immediately noticed a brighter sound. I prefer the metal ligs for that reason. The new Rovner Platinum is much brighter than the Rovner Dark lig.
Just my thoughts on this subject. I am by no means an expert, just a sax player.
After trying all of the more unpractical and expensive ones I now use the simple inverted Vandoren Masters ligature. Inexpensive, easy to use, and simple. Exactly what a ligature should. Spend your dough on a great mouthpiece.
B
Hey Steve,
More than half my criteria is money. I’m playing a Spectruoso right now, but I won’t pay for his lig. (At least $60………are you kidding me?) Some of this stuff is just jewelry for your mouthpiece;of course nobody even notices it but you. There are differences in reed response but I think at some point you have to put a $ sign on it.
Best ones I’ve found are some of the Rovners and the Bois; both are reasonably priced. My 2 cents………
Peace,
Mike
Steve,
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said you “feel” a difference with different ligatures. My experience had been that different ligatures feel different to me, but make very little difference, if any, to listeners. (And I suspect that any minor difference detected is because the feel of the ligature affects how I play, not because the ligature has inherent characteristics that affect tone.)
I just got a Phil Tone alto piece in the mail today. I have 3 alto ligatures I typically use. A Vandoren Optimum, a Charles Bay, and an ultimate ligature. So when I got the piece, I put on a reed I knew to be good with the Optimum, which is the one I’d been using primarily. It was OK but not that great. I hadn’t actually used my ultimate ligature in a long time but decided to give it a try and the tone was instantly and significantly better. It wasn’t some subtle difference either, anyone would have noticed it. I tried the FL on some other pieces and it didn’t have quite the same effect (which is probably why I hadn’t been using it much), but it made a huge difference on that Phil Tone.
I think it is undeniable whether the ligature makes a difference or not. Difference ligatures allow different levels of vibration (leather/cloth ligatures hinder vibrations while metal allows more, etc).
These levels of vibration may only change the sound to a degree that the player may notice (I really don’t know, you’d have to listen to a recording on the same setup with different ligs) but at the very least, there is a change in articulation. I remember back in the day my old teacher Barry Kagan kept on with a bit of dissatisfaction in my tone. It was stuffy and draggy. Mr. Kagan hated when students would change setups to try to fix problems, but when he went to grab something in a different studio I quickly took off my Rovner dark to try on a 2 screw metal stock ligature. He came back and heard me play and was very happy. He sat confused as to why my tone was “rounder and more responsive, with improved articulation”, but I thought I was more confused as to why something that holds the reed to the mouthpiece would make a difference beyond the player.
So is it important the find the best ligature out there. I don’t think so. But I do believe it is important to find a ligature that does not hinder playing. On the saxophone (because clarinet is worlds different), I believe 2-screw stock ligs, and any of the other metal ligatures should suit people well. Leather ligatures can work too as long as there is some sort of plate of some kind.
Mike
I don’t suppose ya’d have a Rovner Eddie Daniels lig for HR tenor pieces in there that you’d sell!??!
Nope, not for HR tenor. I have one for clarinet but that’s it.
This is my two cents: I think the most important quality in a lig is that it fits well. It might be so obvious that it’s stupid to point out but it is the basic function of the lig to be able to hold the reed so it aligns well and gives a tight seal. It has to pass the vacuum test!
I prefer a lig with two screws (rules out most modern, expensive ligs…)so you can balance the pressure on the reed – more forward or towards the butt end of the reed. It’s also good if the lig fits both closer to the table of the mouthpiece and further down towards the butt end so you can move it as you please. These two ways of adjusting the lig helps you adjust for the particular reed you’re playing and the sound you want – if it’s a little too bright you move the lig down a little or lighten up the pressure on the front screw. Just make sure it still seals well.
Soft ligs take away some of the high frequences and can add some warmth compared to a hard one.
Dan G
Hi Steve Which ligatures do you use nowadays on your tenor, alto and soprano and why thanks alot
I use a bunch of different ones depending on what mood I’m in. On tenor hard rubber I use a FL or Marc Jean. On metal tenor I use a Selmer 404. On alto I use a Vandoren Optimum or Theo Wanne Enlightened, on soprano I use a Optimum. Not sure why I go with each when I do. They all give me a slightly different sound and response. Steve
I also use the Optimum on alto hard rubber, but not for tenor. Now I’m wondering why not. Any reason why you don’t use it on tenor either? I’m considering one, the FL or a Winslow.
In my mind, Vandoren really messed up their design of the Vandoren Optimum tenor sax ligature by making it too small. It fits fine on Vandoren mouthpieces and other slightly thinner hard rubber tenor mouthpieces but it does not fit comfortably on Otto Link hard rubber sized mouthpieces. It isn’t big enough to slide towards the back of the reed. Most of the hard rubber tenor mouthpieces I have reviewed have been the diameter of the Otto Link hard rubber mouthpieces. It’s a shame. If Vandoren and made it just a tad bigger so it would fit all hard rubber tenor sax mouthpieces I think it might be one of the most used tenor sax ligatures on the planet.
I never got on with the Winslow. It just slid around too easily and if I clamped it down tight enough so that is slid less, then the reed played like it was clamped down in a death grip. The tone is all pinched and constrained sounding.
I absolutely love the FL Ultimate ligature as far as sound but that one can also move on the mouthpiece quite easily. Nevertheless, I still use that one quite a bit as I love the solid core it seems to add to hard rubber mouthpieces that are usually more spread sounding without it.
Most of the time I think they make a difference even if only slight. I agree with Steve that it’s possible that only the player notices but that’s enough, if I feel it’s helping me sound better it will most likely help me play better. I have two RPC tenors and these things are fat boys so the available ligs are limited. I have most sizes of Vandoren V16 tenor ligs, which I love, but none fit the RPC. I’m tempted to try either a bari or maybe a clarinet V16. I mostly use a Francois Louis, it seems to be either that or one of the many fabric things which sound ok but look terrible and handle badly. If anybody has found a V16 that fits an RPC tenor I’d love to know which model.
The only way to be objective about ligatures is with a blind comparison. Have somebody else set up your mouthpiece with one of your ligatures, put the mouthpiece on your horn, then give you the horn to play. You make written comments about how you like it and why. Then repeat the process for another ligature. Just for fun have the friend attach your reed with a rubber band.
After going thru all this, look at this Youtube clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ghMCiV8hTg
Then let me know what you think at oldharps@comcast.com
I neglected to say in the previous comment that you, the player, should be blindfolded and not allowed to touch the ligature to be sure you don’t what type it is. This may seem a lot of trouble, but could keep others from blowing big bucks on a device that only secures your reed to the flat surface on the mouthpiece. I personally like the Rovner but only because it’s so easy to change the reed and tighten only one screw.
Alan
Just last night I went to a gig…realized I had left my tenor ligature at home. I played the entire gig using a rubber band as a ligature. I have never done that before. I was surprised that the rubber band worked so well. I even got compliments on my tone quality. I tend to agree that expensive ligatures are kind of like jewelery for your mouthpiece and the difference in sound is pretty minimal.
I just got a Robusto, old style, sorry Mark your new ones aren’t available round here, so have been running through my ligatures, as you do. I have a number that fit, a Francois Louis and a couple of BWs, my Optimum sadly doesn’t. At the end of the session I spotted a rubber band on my pencil tin and tried it. You guessed it, it sounded at least as good as the rest, to my ears, at the time it was better. The only problem is the sliding about of the reed. Anyway what is did was stop me looking at the very expensive offerings and decide to stick with what I have. I can hear a difference and I believe this is important, even if the audience can’t hear it, but I think I need to come to terms with the fact that spending more than $100 isn’t going to make me Michael Brecker. I’m sad about this, but also have more money to spend on things like reeds (which I already have been doing).
I’m looking for a ligature that will work on a CE Winds Legend 1 metal mouthpiece, first metal and didn’t get a ligature with it. eBay buy and couldn’t get any help from seller. So I’m researching myself and seems a alto Selmer 402 comes up a few times. Never thought of rubber bands, like Mcgiver ! I’ll give it a try until I can get a suitable lig. Just a novice player around the house. I’ve learned a lot from these discussions, thank you and keep them coming.
Steve, what ligature do you currently use for your HR mouthpiece reviews?
Frank, Currently, I almost always use a generic metal tenor sax ligature. It just says “Tenor Sax”. Nothing special. The reason I use this ligature most of the time is to keep other factors that might affect or color the sound of a mouthpiece to a minimum so that people just hear the mouthpiece with a regular ligature. I do have a ton of other ligatures that I really like and use quite often but for the reviews I try to keep it more neutral. Steve